Farm Bureau applauds rule reversal on feed law

The rules would have harmed farmers and brewers by imposing costly and inefficient stipulations on handling grain left over from the beer-making process, Farm Bureau and like-minded organizations argued.

Comment

By Julie Sherwood

MPNnow

By Julie Sherwood

Posted Apr. 25, 2014 at 10:19 AM

By Julie Sherwood
Posted Apr. 25, 2014 at 10:19 AM

The New York State Farm Bureau on Friday applauded the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s reversal of proposed feed regulations. The bureau and like-minded organizations such as the Brewers Association pushed for a halt to the tighter rules. The rules would have harmed farmers and brewers by imposing costly and inefficient stipulations on handling grain left over from the beer-making process, the organizations argued.

“The spent ‘wet” grain’ is a byproduct of the brewing process and is often sold or donated to livestock farmers to use as healthy animal feed,” stated the Bureau. “Without revising the proposed rule in the Food Safety Modernization Act, both brewers and farmers would have incurred additional expenses in trying to comply with the unnecessary new standard. The only other alternative would have been hauling off the grain to local landfills."

The bureau commended U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer for urging the FDA to abandon the rules.

“New York Farm Bureau advocated for the revision and we commend Senator Schumer’s expediency in helping make this happen,” stated Dean Norton, state Farm Bureau president.